After years or searching the Unicorn of Monster Trucks is finally mine! And....

[gandalfnz]

Finally an owner of the HPI Savage Octane!
But wait, there's more!
Its brand new, never seen fuel.

Hey guys, I have been after this truck for a long time, never thought I'd own one, let alone in a brand new condition.
I am aware this is one of the biggest RC let downs out there, but also a lot of people have got it working perfect with a bit of patience and TLC.
Apparently, a common mistake was thinking that the engine can be broken in with only a few tanks of fuel, when it really needs about 20 or more.
As always, I love challenging projects, so this fit right in.

Kind of just want to leave it as a shelf queen, but the temptation to fire it up is high!

 

[tudordewolf]

That's amazing, I couldn't think of a better caretaker for that model!

Sometimes I wonder just how many new-old-stock cars are still out there in somebody's storage unit or basement, especially ultra-rare models, like this Octane or the Kyosho & OS 4-stroke-powered FW-04....

 

[gandalfnz]

That's amazing, I couldn't think of a better caretaker for that model!

Sometimes I wonder just how many new-old-stock cars are still out there in somebody's storage unit or basement, especially ultra-rare models, like this Octane or the Kyosho & OS 4-stroke-powered FW-04....

Thank you!

Never knew that kyosho model existed, is it the same size as FW05 and 6 or bigger?

 

[tudordewolf]

Thank you!

Never knew that kyosho model existed, is it the same size as FW05 and 6 or bigger?

I misspoke, it was an FW05 model. It had an OS FS-26 CX engine. There's even one on eBay right now with some good pics. That price, though...

How'd you find that Octane?

 

[rctimewaster]

Finally an owner of the HPI Savage Octane!

Thrash it in some wet deep mud...
you know you want too

 

[gandalfnz]

I misspoke, it was an FW05 model. It had an OS FS-26 CX engine. There's even one on eBay right now with some good pics. That price, though...

How'd you find that Octane?

That looks like a typical 4 stroke plane engine, I think a mod is possible.
Still amazing these were factory made.
I want one now

Found the octane on a local ebay type of buy and sell website.
Guy initially wanted too much, then came down at 2/3 of asking price.
I knew it was now or never, as finding one brand new is next to impossible, not a single one is on ebay at the moment, they are that rare.

Thrash it in some wet deep mud...
you know you want too

Haha, could never do that to a car. I am one of those people that blow the dust away with a compressor after every ride, and clean up any oil residue, so its always mint!

 

[Chubaka]

That's amazing, I couldn't think of a better caretaker for that model!

Sometimes I wonder just how many new-old-stock cars are still out there in somebody's storage unit or basement, especially ultra-rare models, like this Octane or the Kyosho & OS 4-stroke-powered FW-04....

Same here. I'm finding long discontinued cars on ebay new. Things I thought were long gone.

Amazing savage. Extremely jealous.

 

[Doom!]

Congrats, always cool to kind one you've wanted for a long time.

 

[gandalfnz]

Thank you all!

Not a single octane owner on these forums, to throw in some tips and tricks?

 

[Tunedfrog]

Nice score and great start to a awesome collection.

 

[Chubaka]

Thank you all!

Not a single octane owner on these forums, to throw in some tips and tricks?

@Greywolf74 got one from another member. Grey saved it from landfill matter. @WVNed was the original owner I believe.

 

[Chubaka]

I misspoke, it was an FW05 model. It had an OS FS-26 CX engine. There's even one on eBay right now with some good pics. That price, though...

How'd you find that Octane?

How's this for new old stock? Too bad I wasn't born into a rich family.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115628912157?hash=item1aec052e1d:g:3DYAAOSw8yFjjmaK&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA4NtiYzqxi2PjLlgS9W9H0abCwtEG4ahtHX/bDZCkiXff1LSuVXJwrCq8QsmYKXUSNfHc1/b3HQw16C5WxY3rcm1OMxzGhbXIROB/4+0nkntq1HPEcEWzxYzeSxabjVLKLHkZQm9/VHB63U9gY4yRdeJ+eQ6INj2hBhk6lzwYEGcEu5GGFAc4cSomU+FPdU8eKK/uu+8+wUccKmGgPViIox7mq4+ZQSButO8zWkgPUdRQ5NcjCljce5yXPWJ0PQF4bmeQpNovDmL/26/bHOJ24lanfGAE00/Ou15iuiHQTqhn|tkp:Bk9SR7qMqdLmYg

 

[WVNed]

@Greywolf74 got one from another member. Grey saved it from landfill matter. @WVNed was the original owner I believe.

I was.
It ate pistons. The hardened metal clip that holds the piston pin in comes out. That going through the engine ruins things.
It was a common failure reported at the time.

 

[gandalfnz]

I was.
It ate pistons. The hardened metal clip that holds the piston pin in comes out. That going through the engine ruins things.
It was a common failure reported at the time.

I guess not all suffer from this issue, hopefully I will the lucky one.

I noticed that some I think earlier models came with a black exhaust, the later on it was replaced with a chrome one. Or maybe its vice versa. Not sure.

 

[WVNed]

I guess not all suffer from this issue, hopefully I will the lucky one.

I noticed that some I think earlier models came with a black exhaust, the later on it was replaced with a chrome one. Or maybe its vice versa. Not sure.

It came from Tower Hobby as a scratch and dent. Like new condition, box damage. DOA. Sorry your problem, too bad so sad.
I rebuilt the engine multiple times. Tiny tiny inner snap wrings were my nemesis. I never got a piston and sleeve set to run long enough to break it in and make enough power to shift the transmission, It would run and then die and have no compression. If you removed the plug you could see pits in the top of the piston from the clip and ring material hitting it.
I kept it for a long time. HPI went away and finally I wanted room in the garage. Greywolf wanted it so I sent it to him. He was going to do an electric conversion on it.
The head pipes crack and fail. I ran it enough to have that happen too. The rest of it seemed to work as good as any Savage except it is very heavy for the suspension. Lots of shock preload spacers. I never got around to working on that.

 

[gandalfnz]

It came from Tower Hobby as a scratch and dent. Like new condition, box damage. DOA. Sorry your problem, too bad so sad.
I rebuilt the engine multiple times. Tiny tiny inner snap wrings were my nemesis. I never got a piston and sleeve set to run long enough to break it in and make enough power to shift the transmission, It would run and then die and have no compression. If you removed the plug you could see pits in the top of the piston from the clip and ring material hitting it.
I kept it for a long time. HPI went away and finally I wanted room in the garage. Greywolf wanted it so I sent it to him. He was going to do an electric conversion on it.

View attachment 173324

Its a shame, such a unique and nice looking car.
Those piston clips would cause some major damage to the sleeve and top of the piston like you said. Loss compression in this case makes sense.
I just reset the LSN and HSN to factory settings, as per their latest revision manual, because it was updated multiple times after the car launched.
Now its time to start learning how to tune and adjust a petrol carb (most are wallbro).
I think it similar but not quite as nitro in terms of tuning, for example I have no idea how big an idle gap should be on the octane, at the moment its fully closed at neutral and when brakes are applied, which I guess must be wrong.

Bring on the challenge!

 

[WVNed]

Its a shame, such a unique and nice looking car.
Those piston clips would cause some major damage to the sleeve and top of the piston like you said. Loss compression in this case makes sense.
I just reset the LSN and HSN to factory settings, as per their latest revision manual, because it was updated multiple times after the car launched.
Now its time to start learning how to tune and adjust a petrol carb (most are wallbro).
I think it similar but not quite as nitro in terms of tuning, for example I have no idea how big an idle gap should be on the octane, at the moment its fully closed at neutral and when brakes are applied, which I guess must be wrong.

Bring on the challenge!

Mine was easy to start with a fresh piston, I was very proud of myself at first. I used the settings in the manual as I remember. I always ran it rich to break it in. Then you slightly lean it to bring up the power. That's what I remember. It isn't a nitro engine.
There were rumors that the pistons were made incorrectly and the groove for the snap rings wasn't right. Another that the snap rings weren't heat treated correctly and failed.
There was supposed to be a helicopter motor, OS maybe - that had a piston/sleeve that would work with a better design. I never found a set though.
Then there was the Eight-T with the dynamite gas engine. It ran great but killed the radio. The ignition module made too much noise. I finally swapped an LRP ZR .32 in and called that one a day.

 

[Chubaka]

Found these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3749372965...tlHf/fi2psrNZeXlgawLCXQw==|tkp:Bk9SR_iEs5rnYg

They also have 10cc gas airplane motors.

 

[WVNed]

OS GTZ15

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=853987

 

[gandalfnz]

Thank you both for linking these.

I wonder if any of the savages came with the HW improved engine models?